


To Tie a Bond

by prolixology



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, How to be a guy lessons from tony, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter gets ready for a stark industries gala, Stark Industries, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, kind of??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 15:37:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17665304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prolixology/pseuds/prolixology
Summary: Honestly, Tony expected worse. He expected Peter to have a black eye, broken rib or even worse from sneaking out to go Spiderman-ing. He expected tears or some irreparable damage. He mostly expected Peter to say he no longer wanted to go to the gala together, and worse, that he didn’t want to be around him anymore. What he absolutely didn’t expect was for Peter to be looking at him with wide eyes, as if he had been caught red-handed, standing in front of his full length mirror with his phone propped up and displaying youtube video, white shirt collar popped up, and hands gripping a blue tie haphazardly thrown around his neck.





	To Tie a Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta’d as usual

“Kiddo? You plan on coming out any time soon?” Tony said, softly knocking on the door to Peter’s room in the tower. 

 

“Ye-yeah just a minute!” the boy called back, his voice shaking subtly.

 

Tony’s eyebrows instantly furrowed. “You sure about that, Pete? Everything okay in there?” 

 

A beat of hesitation. “I’m good.” Tony knew instantly that was a lie. 

 

“You’re a terrible liar. I’m coming in, kiddo.” It wasn’t a request, but that didn’t stop Peter. 

 

“Nonono Mister Stark, I’m good-“ The door opened and Peter froze. Honestly, Tony expected worse. He expected Peter to have a black eye, broken rib or even worse from sneaking out to go Spiderman-ing. He expected tears or some irreparable damage. He mostly expected Peter to say he no longer wanted to go to the gala together, and worse, that he didn’t want to be around him anymore. What he absolutely didn’t expect was for Peter to be looking at him with wide eyes, as if he had been caught red-handed, standing in front of his full length mirror with his phone propped up and displaying youtube video, white shirt collar popped up, and hands gripping a blue tie haphazardly thrown around his neck. 

 

“I’m sorry Mister Stark, I don’t want to make you late and I didn’t want to embarrass you at my first gala but I don’t know how to tie a tie because I’ve only worn a clip on tie and that was like twice to funerals, and this stupid youtube video isn’t even in English but I couldn’t find a better one in time and-“

 

Tony tried to suppress his smile. “Slow down kiddo, it’s alright. It’s just a tie.” He gave the kid a once over, and slowly began untying the perfect windsor knot around his own neck. “First thing to learn about these gala is that Tony Stark is never late. I arrive when I arrive.” 

 

Peter giggled softly, a sight that warmed Tony to the very core of his being. “Who are you, the queen of England?”

 

That earned him a teasing punch to the arm and a smile. “Pretty damn close to, I’d say.” 

 

Peter rolled his eyes but kept a soft smile on his face, which Tony took as a win. “Second thing to learn is that you are never going to embarrass me. I’ve peed myself in front of a room of people, so anything you do can’t ruin my reputation any more than that. Unless you start stripping in the middle of the floor, in which case-“

 

“Mister Stark, that’s disgusting.” 

 

“Which part?” 

 

Peter made a face. “All of it.” 

 

Tony let out a short laugh, affection bubbling in his chest for his apprentice.“Better get used to it, Pete.” He straightened. Back to business. “Third, if you don’t know how to do something, you can always come to me kiddo.”

 

“But I don’t want to bother you.” 

 

Tony’s heart sank. He placed his hands on Peter’s shoulder and ran them smoothly down the dark blue arms of the ridiculously expensive, designer suit he had insisted on buying for Peter. “Kiddo, you could never bother me.” He said, meeting the round brown eyes of Peter, who quickly looked away. 

 

“But you’re not my dad.” He paused. “Or Uncle Ben.” 

 

Tony tensed. There it was. The fateful moment he knew was coming, where Peter told him that he didn’t want him around. He knew it was bound to happen at some point, but that didn’t make it any less crushing, and he’d hoped it had been at least after their first gala together. There were so many things he wanted to show Peter. And selfishly, he loved having the boy around. His constant chatter, bubbly personality, and just general excitement for life had done wonders for Tony’s mental health. And he was losing that. For the first time in a long time, Tony felt tears prickle in the corners of his eyes. 

 

Peter must have sensed this, because he looked up quickly. “I don’t mean I don’t look up to you, I just- I just-“ his voice broke, and Tony’s heart went along with it. “You don’t have to look after me. I’m not your responsibility to take care of. You aren’t obligated to care about me. You shouldn’t care about me. I’m just a random kid from Queens.” 

 

“Oh,  _ mi cucciolo, _ ” Tony sighed softly, the Italian flowing naturally as he pulled Peter into a hug, which he immediately melted into. “I know I’m not obligated to take care of you. But I want to. And I’m sure Ben and your father would say the same thing. They took care of you because they loved you, Peter. And they didn’t just love you because you shared blood, they loved you because you’re Peter Parker.”

 

Tony felt a wet spot forming on his suit where Peter’s face was buried, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, instead focusing on the child, his child, crying in front of him. “But I don’t want to be a burden. To anyone.” 

 

Tony pulled back from the hug to look Peter in the eye. “You are not a burden. You will never be a burden.” He reached up to wipe the tears off of the spiderling’s face. “You are loved, Peter Parker. Don’t ever forget it. My door is always open.” 

 

Peter didn’t say anything, instead choosing to wrap Tony in a bone-crushing hug. Tony wrapped his arms around Peter protectively, one hand around his back and the other securely positioned in his brown curls. 

 

“Oh,  _ cuore mio _ ,” Tony said, almost involuntarily. “Now about that tie..”

 

Peter pulled back from the hug and made a face. Tony wrapped the tie and around Peter’s neck and positioned his own the same way. Carefully, he showed Peter step-by-step, watching him bite his lip in concentration while mirroring Tony’s movements. Quickly enough, he had a pretty good knot. 

 

“Not bad for a first try, kiddo.” Tony praised. Peter beamed at him, and his heart swelled. What did he do to deserve this kid? “Ready to go?”

 

Peter nodded. “Good, because I’m ready to show of my genius of an intern. Looking like this, we’re gonna be the cover of every tabloid tomorrow.” Tony said, smoothing Peter’s jacket for him and patting him good-naturedly on the chest. “ _ Ti amo, piccolo.”  _ Somehow, the words were easier to say in Italian. As if that somehow made that less of a confession. He turned to leave the room, Peter right on his heels like his usual excited puppy self. 

 

Peter grinned. “Hey, Mister Stark?”

 

“Yeah, kiddo?”

 

“ _ Parlo Italiano.” _

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t speak Italian! Please correct me if I/google am wrong about anything!  
> translations:  
> mi cucciolo: term of endearment for a child, kind of like calling them a puppy  
> cuero mio: my heart  
> Ti amo, piccolo: I love you, kid  
> Parlo Italiano: I speak Italian


End file.
